Commenting on the development, assistant general secretary, Martin Spence said:

"The internet makes it technically easy for music, films, and TV programmes to be illegally downloaded or shared for free and because it’s easy, lots of people do it. But the fact that it is easy doesn’t make it right.

"Illegal downloading is theft and represents stolen income from creative workers like actors or directors or musicians.

In addition, this theft, which is rife, undermines investment in future production which threatens the jobs of thousands of our members, many of whom are casual or freelance and survive precariously from contract to contract."